Tag Archives: healthy chocolate brownie recipe

It’s not often I get inspired to make brownies. Don’t get me wrong, I love a brownie, but they generally aren’t the healthiest thing you can bake and once you make a batch you have to eat them, right? So it’s usually flapjack in my cake tin.

However this week Miss K brought home a lentil brownie recipe in her bag from school and it intrigued me. Lentil in a brownie? Surely not.

I’ve adapted the recipe slightly to lower the sugar and next time I would definitely add in pecans. You can’t beat a pecan in a brownie.

These were a hands down winner. Easy to make (as long as you have lentils already cooked or cook them earlier in the day) and they baked whilst we ate dinner. I gave one to my hubby, he looked at me suspiciously and took a bite, then with a surprised voice told me they were really good. My poor family have to try a lot of dud baking as well as the good bits!

None of my children or husband even noticed the lentils. I had a faint taste of them, but I had made them so was probably a bit sensitive to the taste. A great way to lower the glycaemic index and make a higher protein version of a chocolate brownie.

I love a chocolate brownie, who doesn’t? But they so often just don’t agree with me. Due to having Crohns diease I have to e wheat free and I can’t tolerate too much fat. For ages I have been meaning to play around with making a lighter, healthier, wheat free version of a brownie. Finally, one Friday night, after teaching Pilates and doing ballet, I had the moment I needed. That chocolately, cakey craving.

Now I like beetroot, but only in small quantities. This is definitely a good way to use beetroot if you grow your own or get a glut given to you. In fact it may be the best way to cook with beetroot 😉 It really is surprisingly nice. I may even have to grow beetroot next year just to make it again.

Any other good beetroot recipes, please do share.

Chocolate Beetroot Brownies

2014-10-04 08:03:41

Yields 20

Simple beetroot chocolate brownies, the hardest bit is cooking and peeling the beetroot if you use it from fresh!

Chocolate Brownies, what’s not to love? I actually can’t eat rich foods, so these babies hit the spot for me on more than one level. They are healthier as I’ve cut down the butter and chocolate, they have lower in sugar, gluten/wheat free and they contain beetroot plus prunes.

Today was one of those days when I was in need of a pick me up. Tired after a busy week, 32 weeks pregnant with an active toddler to amuse and a husbnad at work. So I did what I do when I’m tired…. I got busy in the kitchen. I fancied chocolate and we had some leftover beetroot in the fridge, it reminded me of a chocolate and beetroot cake someone had made once, so after a quick peek at Pinterest I set about adapting my Chocolate and prune Brownie recipe.

The end result – AMAZING. These came out a whole heap better than I had expected. I tested them on the hubby who pulled a bit of a face until he bit into one, then gave it a 9/10. It’s taken a fair amount of will power for us not to eat all of them in one evening 😉

I’ve been seeing a few recipes for raw brownies floating around and each time I see them thinking…. “I really must try these out”. Last Monday morning was the time, for some reason I woke up full of cooking inspiration and whislt the toddler ate her porridge I knocked these up – they literally took that little time to make.

I was pleasantly suprised with the result and took them round to my friend Steph to try. They really are a chocolate substitute! Very rich, very nutty but gooey and satisfying.

Heathy, Raw, GlutenFree, High Protein No Chocolate Brownies!

Author: Priya Tew, Dietitian UK

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Ingredients

2 cup dates

1 cup cashews

1/2 cup almond

1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1 ripe banana

2 tbsp nut butter

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp carob powder (use cocoa if wanted)

2 tbsp honey

Instructions

Soak the dates in warm water for 30 minutes, drain and process with the nuts plus the 1/4 cup cocoa powder.

Press into a greased, lined, small baking tray, I used a small round cake tin.

Mix the remaining ngredients together to make the topping and spoon over the base layer.

Freeze for 30 minutes, cut into small squares (you really don’t need much of this).